Time to put an end to this thread. Buckle up.
1. GCA was around for 5-10 years before I came on board, and I've been on board for close to 20 years. By "GCA," we have to ask ourselves Do we mean the discussion group only? When was the last time that you looked at and counted the 147 Custodians, read a Feature Interview, perused the Courses by Country and checked a review, or even noticed that there is something called "Tags" in the main menu bar?
2. GCA has been advertisement-free in its entirety. That makes it sooooo different from social media, which really should be called socio-capitalist media. They are all about making money; it's just that a new generation figured out how to con an older generation into thinking that they care about golf course architecture. They care more about making money, so they fly drones and they craft pearly essays, and they find any connection to golf, to sell their subscriptions. It's sigma, no cap, but recognize it for what it is.
3. Who are the purists left among us? I'm fortunate to interact with Bausch and Cirba in the Walter Travis Society, and they are shining lights. In addition to the Cobbs Creek project, their photography and writing have kept the Discussion Group moving in a proper direction. Every time I sit down to write an In My Opinion piece, I ask myself if it will measure up to Cirba. It won't, so I cease the writing.
4. Why didn't the admins add a "Feature Photoview" to the masthead? One would have to ask them. It seems that words on a subject are not as offensive as photos. I remember the first Myopia thread that called Myopia by name. It was from that dirsuptor, Jon Cavalier, and the old guard did its level best to chew him a new one. They learned that Lawyer Jon has a tough arse and he flew the coop for bluer skies. There have always been a lot of Stay off my lawn grumps in the Discussion Group; the fewer of them that stick around, the better this place will be.
5. This Discussion Group is an incredible blend of professionals (architects, superintendents, builders, PGA professionals, instructors, and the occasional touring pro) and hobbyists (high-end club members to public course slashers.) No one is paid to present their view on the GCA_DG, although some attempt to parlay and leverage for access and other benefits.
6. There is a list-serv for Language teachers called FL Teach. It is run out of SUNY-Cortland and SUNY-Buffalo by two retired professors. I wonder if they had any sort of succession plan, or growth plan. I receive posts from time to time, but nowhere near the number that I received during the salad days of 2000-2015. I miss the interaction, but I'm not the same guy anymore. I'm 5-8 years away from retirement, but I don't know where the 20s 30s and 40s language teachers are hanging out. The List-Serv is in dire straits, way worse than the GCA_DG.
7. How big will the offer have to be, for the admins to sell GCA? What potential could such a buyer see in the consistent viewership that frequents this environment? If all the folks who would miss it, are gone, does the original matter, and does the scope of the next iteration of GCA need to remain faithful to the original?
8. I like Erik Barzeski.
9. The compelling voices that contribute at the highest level, are the ones that want to/should get paid for their words. They won't give things away for free around here. The most frequent voices are not always the most compelling, but they certainly are the most dedicated. Ever since the admins took away the number-of-posts tally, the video game element has gone away, and no one can point to owning the label of GCA God.
10. "Didactic" is an interesting word, from the opening post. Was it didactic, informative, or a blend of the two? In the 1990s, so many great old courses were miskept and mismanaged, but the bones were there. Then came the renaissance, thanks to the crash of 2008, when architects convinced clubs that their courses needed to be returned to origin form. They weren't wrong, and they cashed in. What happens when the new-build commissions and restoration commissions drain off? That's when the GCA_DG will truly face extinction.